On passion
And why it matters in your business.
No, not that kind of passion:).
But the premise is the same. Passion that lights you up. That gets you excited. That gets you talking a little faster. That has your head spinning.
In this case, passion for an idea. Specifically, an idea for your business.
This has been on my mind since a recent conversation with a fellow consultant. He’d taken me up on my offer to help him talk through an idea he had for a new business.
I’ve known him (for the sake of this post, let’s call him Jack) for a couple of years and each time we spoke, we had a lively, lengthy chat. And no matter the format in which he showed up (1:1, group participation, presenting), I found him lively, engaging, and engaged. An all-around good guy who knew his shit. Had I noticed that he seemed to have offerings in a few areas? Yes. But I didn’t think too much about it as they were connected in some way.
When I received the booking for our meeting, along with a bit of background on what he wanted to discuss, I was…intrigued. Jack mentioned that his current business wasn’t working and he had an idea for a new business that was so far outside of his current domain it truly had me do a double-take. Then it made me smile and wonder, “Where on earth did that come from?’.
The situation.
Jack and I met on Zoom at the scheduled time. After a few minutes spent catching up, we dove in. He took me back to the beginning of his story, which I loved. I’m a person who needs context, who, quite literally, cannot operate without it (something it took me much too long to learn, but now that I’m aware, I have no problem asking for it before proceeding). His telling me his origin story was helpful. It grounded our conversation in a time when he was in love with what he was doing and pursuing his interests, in a time before making money was a primary focus.
Then on to a time when, for a very good reason, it was. Then on to his career and his eventual move to going out on his own as a consultant. What I hadn’t known prior to this conversation was that Jack had gone into business as consultant with only a vague idea of the services he intended to offer and who those services were intended to help.
By early this summer, it was clear that something needed to change. Jack and his wife brainstormed an idea for a new business — one with three somewhat connected service offerings, all of which represented a linear move in terms of experience and expertise from his existing business. And any one of them could have worked on their own if he wanted to go “all in.” But it was obvious when he was sharing this with me that there was no fire, no desire to go “all in” on any of the offerings.
What I heard.
In both his current business and the brainstormed pivot:
He was hedging his bets.
He was offering what he thought he could (and I would say “should”) given his experience and expertise.
He wasn’t clear on the problem he was solving for his potential clients.
Because of this, Jack also missed homing in on the right target market, one that would truly be in need of, and pay for, his services.
He lacked the conviction and confidence to go after those who could benefit most from what he had to offer.
And I told him so.
Now we get to the good part. The part about the passion for an idea that makes all the difference.
An idea that lights you on fire.
When Jack started telling me about his new idea, the crazy one, the one he wanted a “sanity check” on — well, I could barely get a word in. He was off… like a racehorse out of the gate. He was on fire.
He knew the market.
He knew who is ideal client was.
He knew what he wanted to offer and how this would help him stand apart from his competition.
He knew what his competition were doing well and, crucially, what they weren’t.
He had a pretty good sense of what he could charge.
And he was waking up in the middle of the night with ideas.
This idea had potential. And I told him so. Heck, I was excited just listening to him talk and couldn’t wait to ask questions and share ideas that were bouncing around my brain.
When I did have a chance to chime in, I pointed out three things that came up for me while he was talking:
That this new, crazy idea was actually an idea and a dream deferred. It was the passion he’d pursued in college and then in his first job after graduating (his origin story referenced above). And that only now had it found its right timing.
The notion of “connecting the dots” came to mind. The one made famous by Steve Jobs in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. If Jack looked back, he could connect the dots of his various interests and career moves to get to their culmination in this new idea.
The most significant part of his career was not wasted. In fact, it would make him unique — it would help him stand out and instill confidence in his ideal client in a way no one else could. His specific cocktail of passion, expertise, experience, and interests that were impossible to replicate.
With the concept for Jack’s original consulting business and then the brainstormed business pivot he was playing it safe. Or so it would seem on the surface. The word realistic comes to mind. But there was no magic in either of them. And I would suggest this made both riskier, not safer.
With his passion ignited for this crazy new idea, Jack had moved out of the game of the next logical or linear move and into a zone where magic could happen. A place where he was playing his own game and he could use his passion and energy to win it.
I left our talk excited as hell for him and frankly inspired. It got me thinking. I hope it does the same for you.
What game are you playing? What game do you want to be playing? What game can you win?
Until next time.
Katherine
ICYMI
